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For Musicians: How to Sell Out Without Selling Out [SLIDESHOW]

I’ve previously written a post on the topic of selling out, but this free download that I found is so good that I have to bring up the topic again.

The boys and girls over at Heartbeats International recently released an INVALUABLE .pdf download that explains how they go about building successful partnerships between music and brands snag it here in exchange for a tweet). Aligning your music with the right brand can seriously elevate your music career. Many musicians (and their fans) are of the opinion that partnering with a brand is “selling out,” but they couldn’t be more wrong.

A band, musician, or human being, “sells out” when they compromise their integrity, values, or morals in exchange for money, success or another form of personal gain. If you align your music with a brand only because you hope it will launch your music career, you would be selling out, 100%.

Example: Tom Clancy sold the rights to his own name to Ubisoft (video game company) in order to gain popularity. Any war game that Ubisoft releases can have Tom Clancy’s name in the title, regardless of whether Tom was involved in the production of the game.

However, if you align yourself with a brand because you, your fans, and the brand all share the same values and interests, likes, and dislikes…nothing about that is “selling out.”

Example: Blink 182 partnered with Honda for a short period, and toured the country in their cars (styled by Blink 182). Both brand and band liked each other’s products, and decided to partner in hopes of uniting each other’s audiences, and reaching out to new ones.

If done intelligently, partnering your music with a like-minded brand can do wonders for your career. Just make sure you aren’t compromising any of your core values and principles by entering into the partnership. Again, I highly recommend downloading the slideshow above in exchange for a tweet.